


I Need Your Focus

by ashilrak



Series: Night Will Fall And Drown The Sun [5]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Canon Era, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-29 23:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12095958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashilrak/pseuds/ashilrak
Summary: Such strange phrasing. Aaron looked down at his hands, trying to imagine what it’d feel like to have magic focused through them, attuned to his will. “Will you help me?” he asked, voice a whisper. “Your magic is demon magic, but the mechanics can’t be all that different.”John’s smile widened. “You’re right,” it said. “The mechanics aren’t that different at all.”





	I Need Your Focus

Hamilton smirked at him from where he was seated in the chair behind the General’s desk, finding amusement in the nerves Aaron was sure were noticeable. He took in a deep breath, feeling the weight of Washington’s eyes on him, taking him in and trying to figure out just what he was capable of.

This is what he had wanted for so long, what he had been so angry at Hamilton for taking away from him.

Aaron looked over to John, the demon leaning against the wall with its arms crossed over its chest, grinning.

“Burr,” Washington snapped. “Eyes on me. If it were up to me, the demon wouldn’t be here. I need your focus.”

“Yes, sir.” Aaron said. “Of course sir.” He took in a deep breath, chest expanding and shoulders straightening. He could do this. Focus was something he had long ago mastered. But it was so much harder when he didn’t know just what he was supposed to be focusing on.

Washington paced in the small space in front of him, putting feelers out - Aaron could sense the brushes, Washington trying to get a handle on his aura to trigger some sort of reaction.

“Look within yourself,” the General said. “It’s not easy to get a grasp on it. Magic has been a part of you as long as you’ve been on this earth. You’re not going to be able to feel around for it like some foreign object or some sort of unfamiliar pain. This is why I prefer students who start young, but your family followed the formal track.”

Aaron nodded.

“That makes this much more difficult,” Washington continued. “You’ve used your magic, you could use it now. But I need you to familiarize yourself with it. It’s unorthodox, but it’s what separates a student from a proper witch.”

“Aren’t I already a witch?” Aaron asked. It had been part of his identity for so long. To think he didn’t qualify in Washington’s eyes? It hurt.

“You have the potential to be a witch,” Washington said. He stepped closer to Aaron. “A very good one, in fact. The demon’s presence here speaks to your power, and you’re quite controlled. Too controlled, even. It’s a dangerous combination.”

Aaron swallowed.

“I don’t have the time I’d like to be able to spend with you to harness it,” Washington said, looking back to the papers scattered across his desk. “You’re going to have to work on your own. I am sure the demon will be of use, as will Hamilton. Next time I see you, I want you to have a sense of your aura. Be able to pull it in and expand it at will.” Washington nodded to himself and continued, “Once you are able to do that, then we will begin. You will be a good student, and I will be focusing on technique and proper wielding rather than spells and rituals.”

“Yes sir,” Aaron said. What Washington was speaking of was what he had been told for so long was impossible. Magic was to be controlled. Witches used words and natural channels such as minerals and oils to harness it. To be able to do so with intent and your own body? Those were the old tales.

Washington nodded, the corner of his mouth quirked. “You’re dismissed.”

Aaron was brimming with equal amounts of fear and excitement when he walked out of the tent, John at his side. “Do you think I can do it?” he asked, unsure why he couldn’t stop the words from coming out.

John reached for his hand and squeezed once before letting go. “I think,” it said, “That you have the power in you. It’s not fully developed, will never be, but this? What the Warlock speaks of is what magic is meant to be, not what Witches have ended up with after centuries of masking and reducing it to a mockery. It is possible, and you have the natural inclination.” It smiled at Aaron. “Magic is nature, and despite how much you witches like to say that demons go against it, I’ve long considered it a friend of mine.”

Such strange phrasing. Aaron looked down at his hands, trying to imagine what it’d feel like to have magic focused through them, attuned to his will. “Will you help me?” he asked, voice a whisper. “Your magic is demon magic, but the mechanics can’t be all that different.”

John’s smile widened. “You’re right,” it said. “The mechanics aren’t that different at all.”

“So, will you help me?” Aaron repeated. It was dangerous to ask a demon for a favor, but it was John, and Washington himself had mentioned it.

John knocked its shoulder against Aaron’s. “For a price, I’ll do most anything for you, my summoner.”

Aaron was almost grateful for the shock of fear prickling at the back of mind, the sudden tight feeling in his chest, awareness of his surroundings and the forced reminder of just what it was he was dealing with. He took in a shaky breath and forced himself not the inch away from John. “What’s the price?” he asked.

The demon laughed, dozens of eyes falling to them at the sound. It pressed a kiss to his cheek, and Aaron felt the heat rise in response. John did it again, still laughing. “No need to be so scared, my summoner,” it said. “I just want a promise.”

“What kind of promise?” Aaron asked,

John pressed another kiss to his cheek. “That you’ll be mine as long as you live.”

The amount of relief that filled him was almost disturbing. “I already am,” Aaron said. Had been since John kissed him.

“Perfect,” the demon said. “Then yes, I will help you with your magic wielding, my gifted summoner.”

\---

Aaron was certain he didn’t need to be bare chested for this, but John had insisted, and he hadn’t cared enough to put up a fight.

“The Warlock was right,” the demon said from behind him. “Magic isn’t something that is other from you, so it’s hard to find. It blends in.”

He pressed his palms down harder against his knees. They’d been at it for hours now, days, and he was meant to be meeting with Washington in the morning.

“It’s easy to use,” John continued. “Because it’s already there, but you don’t need to use it just yet, you need to sense it and control it.”

Cold hands settled on Aaron’s shoulders, and Aaron tensed under the touch. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Helping you,” the demon said. “We are bonded, so your magic has adapted to mine and no harm will come of this, but you’ll still be able to sense me.”

It couldn’t be-

“Focus, my summoner.”

John’s hands slid down his chest until one was resting over his heart. Less than a moment later, Aaron felt  _ something _ pierce his chest. Not the cold of fear or the fire of fury - something faint, flowing through him. It was a pleasant warmth, but alien. It didn’t belong.

And then, all of a sudden, Aaron felt it - rising up to meet what had to be John’s magic. He gasped.

“Is that-”

John chuckled. “Yes,” it said, extending the word into a hiss.

Aaron focused in on it, pulsing in time with the beating of his heart. It was...he didn’t know. He closed his eyes and tried to visualize it. It wasn’t solid, morphing and rising to match John.

“Do you have it?” the demon asked.

He fell deeper into it, losing sense of all else, and nodded.

“Try to push back.”

The demon’s magic, still warm, turned sharp - more force, no longer so gentle. It grew hotter, and even though Aaron knew it was inside of him, he could feel the heat gather at his skin. He tried to focus in on it, tried to summon the magic, force it to do  _ something _ . Anything.

“Relax,” John whispered. “This is a natural process, don’t force it.”

Tension was building in Aaron’s chest, stress and fear. He had allowed a demon to force its magic inside of him, warp him, taint him. In his sudden panic, he lost hold of it. Aaron fell forward, the tension and energy leaving him. He brought his hands to his head, rubbing his temples in small, circular motions.

John’s hand was still over his chest, fingers tapping a pattern, the demon draped over his back having fallen forward with him. The weight had him feeling trapped.

“You did well, my summoner,” the demon said.

Aaron opened his eyes. “I did?” he asked. “It worked? I pushed you out?”

Lips were pressed to the back of his neck. “You did,” John said. “No small feat, might I add.”

He had forced the demon prince’s magic away from him. He had done it. A smile spread across his face. “I did,” he said. “I did it!” He laughed, and Aaron could feel John smiling against his neck.

“My talented summoner,” John muttered. “Lovely in all ways.”

“Wait,” Aaron said. “Was I only able to do it because we’re bonded? Because my magic recognized yours?”

John shook its head. “The opposite is true.” It wrapped its other arm around Aaron’s waist. “It is actually that much more difficult for you to force me out.”

“Oh.” That changed things. “Can we try again?”

John chuckled. “Of course, my summoner. Though, you don’t need to force me out, that was just to get you a feel for it.” John’s tapping stopped and it pressed its hand flat over Aaron’s heart once more. “Do you feel it now? In the back of your mind? Around you? Don’t focus on it, just tell me what you sense.”

It was a struggle not to try to focus on it, but Aaron did. He instead looked ahead, taking in the shape of his cot and focusing on the warmth of the candlelight on it. It was there, a certainty he was aware of the same way he was aware of the way he could breathe. “Yes, it’s there,” he said.

“Good, now focus it to the tips of your fingers.”

Aaron took in a deep breath, hindered by his hunched position. He twitched his fingers at his side. Nothing.

John kissed the back of his neck. “It’s unfamiliar, but it’s not unnatural. Relax, let it flow as it wants. You’ve been taught to block it. Formal teaching is bad because it forces magic to go down restricted pathways, and is bottled up the rest of the time. That’s all you know, but that’s not what it should be. Let it flow.”

There was a sort of tension there, starting at the base of his spine. It had been a constant companion, subtle enough not to warrant notice. But now that he was aware of his magic, he senses a connection there. Aaron took in another deep breath and tensed, holding the air in his chest. When he exhaled, he relaxed, melting closer to the ground even in his odd positioning.

And then he felt in, a sensitivity in the tips of his fingers that hadn’t been there before. Aaron held his hand up to his face, wiggling his fingers. He could feel  _ something _ in the air. It wasn’t as thick as an aura, but it was there.

“That’s my residual magic,” John said. “From when you forced me out. I let it into the air rather than re-absorb it.”

It did feel like the magic that had been in his chest. Aaron curled his hand into a fist, and was aware of something pooling in his hand to wrap around it, as if the demon’s magic were physical rather than an invisible energy.

“Will it be like this all the time? This heightened sensitivity?” Aaron asked.

John nodded. “Yes. It’ll become familiar with time. It’ll help you be more aware of your surroundings. Think of it as another sense. You can now feel magic of other things just the same as you might hear a footstep.”

Aaron sat up straight, pushing John back. The magic wasn’t just in his hands, he could feel it flowing through his entire body. If it made noise, Aaron was sure it’d be singing with joy.

“It feels so much freer now, like this is how it was always meant to be.”

“That’s because it is,” John said, tone light.

Aaron lifted his hand to cover the demon’s and said, “and this is all I needed to do? No spells?”

“No spells,” John agreed. “The Warlock will teach your how to wield it. Wielding is the easy part, it ebbs and flows with your emotions and your desire. It follows your intent. Control is the hard part.”

Aaron nodded. “Washington said I have control.”

“Because you do,” John said. “You, my summoner, are going to be glorious.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come pester me at my [tumblr](http://ashilrak.tumblr.com)! :^))
> 
> Also, sign-ups for the [fall gift exchange](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Hamilton_Gift_Exchange_Fall_2k17/profile) end tomorrow, Friday, September 15th, at 11:59 EST


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